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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 02:32 PM PST
Islamabad: Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has announced to observe one-day national mourning on Sunday in honour of Awami National Party leader Bashir Ahmed Bilour, who was killed on Saturday in a suicide attack.
Ashraf also said that flags would be flown at half-mast during the mourning.
President Asif Ali Zardari and all prominent political leaders of the country condemned the attack at an ANP meeting in Peshawar that killed the provincial minister and eight others.
Bilour's funeral prayer will be offered at Sher Khan Stadium at 2pm on Sunday while the burial will take place at his native graveyard on Peshawar's Syed Pir Hussain Road.
The KP government has announced a three-day while the ANP called for ten-day mourning over Bashir's death.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and government of Sindh have announced one day each while
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has also called for three-day mourning and both the PPP and the Sindh government have declared Sunday as a day of mourning.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 02:14 PM PST
Kabul: Taliban has demanded a new Afghanistan constitution as a pre-condition for joining the country's peace process, read a declaration issued by representatives at a meeting in France on Thursday.
The meeting, brokered by a French think tank Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), is the first since a US-led bombing campaign drove the Taliban from power in 2001 that senior representatives have sat down with officials from the government and other opposition groups to discuss Afghanistan's future, AFP reported.
"Afghanistan's present constitution has no value for us because it was made under the shadows of B52 bombers of the invaders," said the declaration, which was handed to participants during the meeting and later released to the media.
"Islamic Emirate, for the welfare of their courageous nation, need a constitution that is based on the principles of the holy religion of Islam, national interest, historical achievements, and social justice," it read.
The talks come against a background of accelerating efforts to draw the Taliban and other opponents of President Hamid Karzai into negotiations on how Afghanistan will be run after Western troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
"The invaders and their friends don't have a clear roadmap for peace," the declaration stated.
"Sometimes they say we want to talk to the Islamic Emirate, but sometimes they say we will talk with Pakistan. This kind of vague stance will never get to peace."
To date the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the government, which it regards as a puppet of the United States. Discussions with American officials were suspended in March.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:50 PM PST
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was under renewed pressure on Saturday after his team lost 3-2 at Malaga, a defeat which left the champions 16 points behind leaders Barcelona.
The disappointment was compounded by Mourinho’s controversial decision to drop goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas from the starting line-up.
It was the first time in 10 years that the Spanish World Cup winner had been axed with 25-year-old Antonio Adan called up to take the place of the benched veteran.
Isco and Roque Santa Cruz, with a double, grabbed the goals for Malaga.
Madrid did level at 1-1 with an own-goal by Samuel Sanchez and Karim Benzema made it 3-2 eight minutes from time but the home side clung on to celebrate their first win over Real in 29 years.
Malaga’s win left the Costa del Sol club in fourth, two points behind Madrid on 31 points while Atletico Madrid, who beat Celta Vigo 1-0 on Friday, are second, nine points behind Barcelona.
Barca had earlier won 3-1 at Valladolid, a timely boost for cancer-stricken coach Tito Vilanova who left hospital Saturday 48 hours after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in his saliva gland.
Isco opened the scoring for Malaga after 48 minutes with a well-placed shot from just outside the area, that Adan could do nothing about, after Joaquin Sanchez had found space on the left.
Mourinho brought on Kaka on 63 minutes and his side equalised immediately when the Brazilian’s cross caused chaos in the home defence and Sanchez turned the ball into his own goal.
However Malaga’s attacking play was justly rewarded with two further goals, both from the same source.
On 72 minutes, Joaquin’s clever back-heel found ex-Manchester City forward Santa Cruz, who had replaced former Real star Javier Saviola, in front of goal and three minutes later the Paraguayan finished well from a clever Joaquin pass.
Benzema gave Madrid hope but Mourinho’s side never looked like getting anything from the game in the closing stages.
Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi and Cristian Tello steered La Liga leaders Barcelona to victory at Valladolid.
Jordi Roura took charge of Barca in the absence of the 44-year-old Vilanova who will be out of the game for a number of months to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The win allowed Barcelona to finish 2012 with with 16 wins in 17 games this season, the 2-2 home draw with Real Madrid being the only game in which Barca have dropped points.
“The result could not be more satisfying. We have ended the year very well in a sporting sense and if we add to this the good news about Tito, we can be very happy”, said Roura.
”The only way we had to help him was winning the game and, once again, the team’s attitude has been remarkable.”
Alexis Sanchez should have opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute, but after running onto a Dani Alves pass, he shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Valladolid goalkeeper Dani Hernandez was called into action on 11 minutes to stop a shot from Messi and Xavi went close with a curling free-kick after 26 minutes.
Messi hit a free-kick against the post on 35 minutes after centre-half Henrique Sereno had blocked Thiago Alcantara on the edge of the area.
Barca took the lead with three minutes of the half remaining when a quick attack saw Messi find full-back Jordi Alba in an advanced position on the left and his cross left Xavi with the easiest of finishes.
Messi doubled the lead with a stunning goal on the hour mark.
The Argentine put the ball through a defender’s legs during a driving run before hitting a crisp left-footed shot into the corner to finish 2012 on a staggering 91 goals.
The capacity 26,500 crowd sportingly applauded Andres Iniesta onto the pitch as a late substitute before Javi Guerra gave the home side a late consolation from close range.
But substitute Tello made it three for Barca with his only touch of the game in injury time.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:42 PM PST
Jimmy Stewart's 1946 film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ has topped a list of the best-reviewed Christmas movies released by the Rotten Tomatoes website.
Below is the list of top 25 Christmas films:
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Holiday Inn (1942)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Die Hard (1988)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Trading Places (1983)
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
A Midnight Clear (1992)
A Christmas Tale (2008)
While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951)
Elf (2003)
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)
Gremlins (1984)
The Santa Clause (1994)
The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
Bad Santa (2003)
8 Women (2002)
Batman Returns (1992)
White Christmas (1954)
The Ref (1994)
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:40 PM PST
Damascus: Islamist rebels warned two Christian towns on Saturday they will be attacked if they do not evict regime forces, as the new Greek Orthodox patriarch said Syria’s often-fearful Christians will stay put and urged a peaceful end to the conflict.
Yet a key opposition group said Syria’s conflict is not a sectarian one, contradicting warnings this week by a UN team that increasing sectarianism is threatening whole communities.
In a video message to the Hama provincial towns of Mharda and Sqilbiya, one of seven men armed with Kalashnikovs warned residents to expel gangs of (President Bashar al-) “Assad and shabiha (pro-regime militia) from your towns and convince them not to bomb our villages and families.”
“If not, we will immediately attack the hideouts of Assad’s gangs and shabiha,” added the man, who identified himself as Rashid Abul Fida, head of the Al-Ansar Brigade in Hama.
An image from YouTube is said to show a car which exploded in the Qabun district of Damascus on December 22, 2012 © YouTube/AFP
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said the towns both had pre-war populations in the tens of thousands but that most of their residents have already fled.
As the news circulated, Syria’s new Greek Orthodox leader called in Damascus for Christians to remain in the country despite the conflict.
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Yuhanna X Yazigi also appealed to warring parties to renounce violence “in all its forms” and to start a process of dialogue.
In his first press conference since succeeding Ignatius IV Hazim, who died on December 5, he said: “We Christians are here in the country and we will stay here.
”We believe that Christ is always present in this region, which is where Christianity was born.”
Yuhanna Yazigi gives a press conference in Damascus on December 22, 2012 © AFP
The patriarch sought to play down dangers faced by Christians.
“What is happening to us is happening to others too. We are in the same situation as everyone else, Muslims and Christians, shoulder to shoulder, facing the difficulties,” he said.
There are some 1.8 million Christians in Syria.
Many have remained neutral in a conflict that erupted in March 2011 and has killed an estimated more than 44,000 people. Others, fearing a rise of Islamism, have taken Assad’s side.
The messages came two days after UN investigators described the 21-month conflict as “overtly sectarian in nature.”
In response, the opposition Syrian National Council, hit out against the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, saying the “revolution is neither sectarian nor bloody.”
A Syrian woman hangs Christmas decoration at her home in Damascus, on December 22, 2012 © AFP
“The only division that Syrian society is witnessing is between a bloodthirsty, oppressive regime… and people calling for freedom and equality,” said the SNC, whose chief George Sabra comes from a Christian background.
On Thursday, the commission said the conflict threatened whole communities, and warned that newly formed armed Islamist groups were increasingly operating independently of the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army.
Fabrice Balanche, director of the French research centre Gremmo, says 80 percent of Syrians are Sunnis, around 10 percent belong to Assad's Alawite community, five percent are Christian, three percent Druze and one percent Ismaili.
Meanwhile, there was no let-up of violence, as a car bomb in the northeast Damascus district of Qaboon killed five people, the Britain-based Observatory said.
And Haidar al-Sumudi, a cameraman for state television was gunned down outside his Damascus home, the broadcaster said.
Elsewhere, warplanes carried out air strikes on several flashpoints, among them the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and Homs in the centre of the strife-torn country, said the Observatory.
The Britain-based Observatory said at least 55 people were killed in violence across Syria on Saturday.
Despite Syria’s raging war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed “no one has an appetite for external intervention” in the country’s long-time ally.
“I even have the feeling that they are praying for Russia and China to continue blocking permission for external intervention. Because if there is such a decision, they will have to act, and no one is ready to act.”
Lavrov also said Assad’s regime is still in control of chemical weapons.
The United States said earlier this month it had intelligence showing that the regime was considering using its chemical weapons and issue a stark warning against any such action.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:31 PM PST
Washington: Democratic and Republican leaders traded blame as they left for the Christmas holiday amid fading hope of an agreement to avert a year-end fiscal crisis that could lead to stiff tax hikes and drastic budget cuts.
In the weekly Republican Party radio address on Saturday, House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, said that that President Barack Obama’s proposal to solve the crisis by raising taxes “would still leave red ink as far as the eye can see.”
“What the president has offered so far simply won’t do anything to solve our spending problem and begin to address our nation’s crippling debt,” Boehner said.
“Instead, he wants more spending and more tax hikes that will hurt our economy. And he refuses to challenge the members of his party to deal honestly with entitlement reform and the big issues facing our nation. That is why we find ourselves here today.”
Boehner has made an offer to Obama that would raise $1 trillion (759 billion euros) in tax revenue — mostly through closing loopholes and ending certain deductions — and another $1 trillion in spending cuts, including in some social programs like Medicare.
“I told the president on Monday these were my bottom lines,” Boehner said earlier.
The White House has described its own offer as $1.2 trillion in tax revenues and nearly $1 trillion in spending cuts, although Republicans dispute whether all of the austerity measures are real.
On Friday, president Obama seemed frustrated that Republicans were not willing to offer him a compromise after, in his eyes, he made major concessions to his opponents.
“Nobody gets 100 percent of what they want,” he said.
With just over a week to go before automatic and massive spending cuts and tax increases due to kick in for all Americans on January 1, Obama urged lawmakers to pass a scaled-down tax package to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.
Obama said he still wanted a comprehensive and large deficit-cutting bill to put the US economy on the path to long-term prosperity, but in the meantime, he called for a stop-gap bill to protect middle-class taxpayers.
“There is absolutely no reason, none, not to protect these Americans from a tax hike. At the very least, let’s agree right now on what we already agree on. Let’s get that done.”
Obama said he met Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid and spoke to Republican House Speaker John Boehner on the phone to discuss a fall-back plan, while stressing he still believed a big compromise was possible.
He asked Congress to next week produce a package that at a minimum prevents a tax hike on the middle class, would extend unemployment insurance and lays the groundwork for further deficit reduction next year.
The move would still satisfy his demand to raise taxes on the richest Americans, as all Bush-era taxes will go up on January 1, and Obama only envisions extending the lower rates for middle class earners.
“Everybody can cool off, everybody can drink some egg nog, have some Christmas cookies, sing some Christmas carols,” Obama said.
“Call me a hopeless optimist, but I actually still think that we can get it done,” said Obama, who will spend Christmas in his native Hawaii, but told reporters he would be back in Washington next week.
Obama’s suggestion would extend tax breaks to 98 percent of Americans — those earning below $250,000 a year. In talks with Boehner on a larger compromise, the president had offered to raise that threshold to $400,000.
On Thursday, Republicans rejected a bid by Boehner to pass a backup bill to solve the crisis, leaving Washington in turmoil, markets spooked and renewing fears that America’s political gridlock could spark a recession.
Obama’s aides privately say they doubt that conservative deficit hawks, who oppose raising taxes as a matter of principle, will ever back a deal agreed with the president.
In that case, Boehner could opt to pass a compromise in the House with the help of votes from minority Democrats — a move that could undermine his position as speaker with his own party.
Experts, however, say one way to make a tax hike on the wealthy more palatable for Republicans is to not make them vote for one at all.
Should the new year arrive with no deal, taxes will automatically rise for everyone. Congress could then technically vote to lower taxes on the middle class, something conservatives might be more willing to do.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:10 PM PST
Madrid: Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi and Cristian Tello steered La Liga leaders Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Valladolid on Saturday giving stricken coach Tito Vilanova a timely boost in his battle against cancer.
Vilanova left hospital earlier in the day, 48 hours after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in his saliva gland.
Jordi Roura took charge of Barca in the absence of the 44-year-old Vilanova who will be out of the game for a number of months to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
He wasn’t far from the minds of his players, however, as the squad wore messages of support wishing “strength and bravery” for the coach.
The win allowed Barcelona to finish 2012 with a nine-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid with 16 wins in 17 games, the 2-2 home draw with Real Madrid being the only game in which Barca have dropped points.
They were quick out of the blocks on Saturday.
Alexis Sanchez should have opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute, but after running onto a Dani Alves pass, he somehow shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
Valladolid goalkeeper Dani Hernandez was called into action on 11 minutes to stop a shot from Messi and Xavi went close with a curling free-kick after 26 minutes that zipped just past his post.
Messi hit a free-kick against the post on 35 minutes after centre-half Henrique Sereno had blocked Thiago Alcantara on the edge of the area, but it looked as if the home side would survive to the interval fairly comfortably.
That wish was shattered with three minutes of the half remaining when a quick attack saw Messi find full-back Jordi Alba in an advanced position on the left and his cross left Xavi with the easiest of finishes.
Pedro Rodriguez went close for Barca with a header from a Dani Alves cross just after the break before Messi doubled the lead with a stunning goal on the hour mark.
Mallorca’s forward Tomer Hemed (L) jumps with Betis’ defender Mario in Sevilla on December 22, 2012 © AFP
The Argentine put the ball through a defender’s legs during a driving run before hitting a crisp left-footed shot into the corner to finish 2012 on a staggering 91 goals.
The capacity 26,500 crowd sportingly applauded Andres Iniesta onto the pitch as a late substitute before Javi Guerra gave the home side a late consolation from close range.
But substitute Tello made it three for Barca with his only touch of the game in injury time.
Earlier, Mallorca surprised an in-form Real Betis with a 2-1 away win that denied the side from Seville a chance to move into fourth position.
Benat Exteberria put Betis ahead on five minutes, but the Balearic side hit back with goals from Victor Casadesus and a Javi Marques penalty just after the break for a much needed win.
It was the first win in 12 outings for Joaquin Caparros’ side.
Later Saturday, Real Madrid, 16 points behind Barcelona in third place, go to fourth-placed Malaga.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 11:36 AM PST
Islamabad: Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira urged the nation on Saturday to stand against terrorism in the wake of the death of Awami National Party (ANP) leader Bashir Bilour.
While speaking to a local TV channel, he said, "This war on terror would be won with the help of people belonging to all segment of society including media."
He said the government is taking all measures and utilising all available resources to flush out the menace of terrorism.
He grieved Bashir's death, saying, "It was very tragic and unfortunate incident."
Kaira said the senior minister of Khyber Pakhtunkawa was a great politician and brave man.
He said that the same mind set had assassinated the former prime minister and the leader of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Benazir Bhutto.
Replying to a question he said the PPP government, coalition partners and civil and military institutions are fighting this war on terror with full courage and all available resources.
He urged media to expose the elements involved in spreading terrorism in the country. "It is responsibility of all the people belonging to different segment of society including politicians and media to come forward and play effective role in fighting war against terror," said Kaira.
Replying to another question, he said the government would utilise all resources to conduct the next general elections in a peaceful environment.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 11:17 AM PST
New Delhi: India said Saturday it may consider using the death penalty to punish rapists as police fired tear gas to quell the most violent day of demonstrations against the brutal gang-rape of a young woman.
Struggling to subdue mounting protests in the capital, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said the Congress-led government would look at “enhanced punishment in the rarest of rare rape cases” — a reference to capital punishment.
The current maximum penalty for rape is life imprisonment and “it (the death penalty) will have to be discussed in detail,” Shinde told a news conference late on Saturday.
Thousands of protesters, many of them college students, converged at the India Gate monument in the heart of the capital in the biggest of nearly a week of demonstrations since the assault took place last Sunday.
They then surged toward government buildings and the sprawling presidential palace, shouting “We want justice” and “Stop this shame” and remained late into the night as doctors said the victim was in critical but stable condition.
A demonstrator in front of the Government Secretariat and Presidential Palace in New Delhi on December 22, 2012. © AFP
Some carried banners that read: “Hang them (the rapists) now” and clashes erupted when a group in the crowd tried to break through police barricades and march towards the president’s house. Some people hurled stones.
Some 20 students were injured in the clashes and taken to hospital, the Press Trust of India reported, while opposition party leaders condemned the police use of force to subdue the crowds.
Shinde said the government was determined to make the country safer for women and appealed to demonstrators to disperse, saying, “You have shown your solidarity” with the 23-year-old rape victim.
Six drunk men were joyriding in a bus last Sunday when they picked up the physiotherapy student and her 28-year-old male companion. They took turns raping her before throwing the pair off the speeding vehicle.
During her ordeal, the victim was attacked with an iron rod, causing serious intestinal injuries. Six men have since been arrested.
Police said the woman had given a “fearless account” of the attack from her intensive care bed.
The attack was the latest in a series of violent assaults on women in the capital and elsewhere in the country that have triggered demands for stricter laws and swifter prosecutions.
The attacks have broken the silence that has traditionally surrounded rape in India where victims of such assaults are often deemed to be dishonoured and unsuitable for marriage.
Doctors said the condition of the woman was improving.
“She is doing much better than yesterday. She took sips of water and apple juice,” B.D. Athani, medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, said.
The victim is “very brave, positive and optimistic”, said another doctor, Abhilasha Yadav.
Indian demonstrators march towards India Gate in New Delhi on December 22, 2012 © AFP
Sushma Swaraj, a leader of the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has demanded the death penalty for rapists while another senior BJP figure Ravi Shankar Prasad said New Delhi is becoming India’s “rape capital”.
India has only executed two people since 2004 — one of those being Mohammed Kasab, who was the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The number of rape cases in New Delhi has risen by nearly one-fifth to 661 this year from a year ago, according to government figures, the highest among India’s big cities.
Experts say a combination of abusive sexual behaviour, a scant fear of the law and India’s creaky judicial system encourage such attacks in the bustling city of 19 million people.
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Posted: 22 Dec 2012 10:59 AM PST
Rome: Inter Milan fell further behind Serie A leaders Juventus on Saturday after being held 1-1 at home to struggling Genoa.
Inter, nine points behind the defending champions who beat Cagliari 3-1 on Friday, had to rely on a goal from Argentinian veteran Esteban Cambiasso five minutes from time to rescue a point.
Genoa’s Ciro Immobile had given the visitors the lead in the 77th minute with an exquisite shot with the outside of his right foot.
Cambiasso headed the leveller after being set up by Italian forward Antonio Cassano.
The hosts should have stolen all three points in the final minute of normal time but for a remarkable miss by 19-year-old Croatian Marko Livaja, who missed an open goal and hit the post.
The point could ease the pressure on Genoa coach Luigi Delneri, though, they remain second from bottom and have taken just five points since he took over on October 22.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half but after the break we had a number of chances we were unable to put away,” said Cambiasso.
“We came back by digging really deep, maybe the football wasn’t that pretty but we showed belief.”
Lazio later leapfrogged Inter into second place, eight points behind Juventus, after edging Genoa’s city rivals Sampdoria 1-0 with a goal by Brazilian midfielder Hernanes to take their tally to 17 points from their last 21.
Despite their impressive run of form, Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic insisted that his side were not even thinking of catching Juventus.
“Are we setting our sights on Juventus? No, we are looking only at Lazio. Our ambition must be to always improve and be convincing,” he said.
“This Lazio has done well, but not enough to be a contender to Juventus.”
Napoli got back to winning ways — after two defeats to Bologna in four days in Serie A and then the Italian Cup — beating bottom side Siena 2-0 with late goals from Christian Maggio, who was set up by Slovakian Marek Hamsik, in the 86th minute and Edinson Cavani who scored his 13th of the season from the penalty spot in the 90th minute.
Juventus needed two goals in stoppage time to seal a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Cagliari on Friday.
Cagliari, just a point above the relegation zone, went ahead after 16 minutes through a Mauricio Pinilla penalty awarded after Arturo Vidal had chopped down Marco Sau in the box.
In a contentious game, Cagliari played the last 30 minutes a man short after the sending off of Davide Astori, who had already been booked, for a foul on Sebastian Giovinco.
Alessandro Matri, playing against his old club, levelled for Juventus 10 minutes later and added another in the second minute of injury time.
Mirko Vucinic put away the third in the fifth minute of time added on.
“I have waited for this moment for a long time. My morale had gone down because I wasn’t scoring but I always believed in myself,” said Matri, who hadn’t found the back of the net since September 29.
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